Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 4, Air
by Littlefoot the Warrior
Summary: The missing mother of FireLord Zuko is still nowhere to be found, and he calls upon the Avatar gang to help him find her.. Sokka and Suki get married. Aang and Katara fall in love, and all Toph wants is her parents to love her for who she is.
1. Chapter 1, The Eastern Air Temple

Book 4, Chapter 1, the Eastern Air Temple

Aang looked onto the horizon as he began to head for his bedchamber. After Fire Lord Zuko's crowning and their trip to Ba Sing Se, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Suki, Momo and Appa traveled to the eastern air temple to make a home in the clouds. Toph and Aang fixed the walls and architecture while Suki painted the new walls. Katara filled the old well with new water and also filled the ancient spring and river. Sokka explored to find things they could use with Momo and Appa. So far they had completely fixed one of the three buildings in the eastern Air temple. It had taken them about two year to do that, with all the times they had to stop a natural disaster or join in a celebration somewhere in the earth kingdom. Aang was now 15 and Katara 16, Sokka 18, Toph 12, and Suki 17. Sokka and Suki were already engaged and planning their wedding, and Suki insists that they have it on Kioshi Island. Sokka, However, wants their wedding to be in the Southern Water Tribe. Toph prefers to spend her free time playing rock ball with Aang or doing something that helps the building of the Air temples. Katara and Aang found a lake and like to practice water-bending. Momo normally just hangs out on someone's shoulder and Appa loves to fly in circles.

Aang passed Sokka and Suki's bedchamber and over heard their bickering. "It will be on Kioshi Island so I can celebrate with my fellow Kioshi warriors!" "It will be in the southern water tribe so my father can join the celebration!" "Well he can come to Kioshi Island and watch the wedding there!"

Aang passed them and continued to his bedchamber. He passed Toph's bedchamber and then Katara's bedchamber. Finally, his was at the end. It was large with a bed built into the wall with a wall of just shelves filled with scrolls and priceless artifacts he found all over the world. Just as well, he has an ancient chair Sokka found for him in a hidden room. It was late at night and he was not tired so he grabbed his glider and jumped out the window. He recalls teaching Sokka, Suki, and Katara how to fly a glider. They all were pretty good for non-air-benders. He flew down to the most unfinished part of the temple and landed. He thought to himself: "Next I will fix up the western Air temple, then the Southern. The northern Air temple is already habited, so that is their place." He flew back up to the finished building. It looked exactly as it did before the Fire Nation invaded a hundred years ago. The plants grew lusciously and birds flew about. He was too involved in marveling at their accomplishment that he didn't notice Katara land behind him with her glider.

"Aang, you should really get to bed. It's the middle of the night and we have to work on the next building tomorrow." Katara pleaded. Aang looked at her. She had the most beautiful hair and eyes and she wore her mother's necklace. They had begun to fall in love with each other and Katara watched over him lovingly. She wasn't clingy but she also wasn't the kind that wasn't interested. She was perfect.

"Aang? Are you listening?" Katara asked him.

"Huh-oh ya. Lets go." Aang snapped out of his trance. Together they walked up he many stairs, and by the time they got to where their bedchambers were, they were exhausted. "Goodnight" Aang managed to say. He crawled into bed and didn't get up till morning.

Aang yawned so that the fabric hanging from the ceiling blew in his breath. He dressed in some basic pants and robe-like shirt from the chest under his bed and left his room. Katara, Toph and Suki were already up and in the big hall. They were talking about how one building should belong to Toph; one to Sokka and Suki and one to Katara and Aang, and that Toph could have Appa in a part of her home. Toph shouted "I call the small one on the end with the big courtyard of just rock! Appa could have that big room on top with all that hay! It was meant for him." Aang assumed that Toph had already washed up and eaten. She was never this peppy unless she ate.

"Well I think Sokka and I should have this one. It's the only one that doesn't have something for a bender, and it's got a pretty grassy courtyard with a lot of trees for either sword practicing or fan-fighting. And it's got the most bedrooms, in case Sokka and I ever have kids." Suki went on. Toph pretended to barf and Katara laughed.

"Well the one were working on today would be nice for Aang and I, because it has a lake and an air-ball court. Don't forget, it has one of those rooms where only an air-bender can open the door. And the bedchambers have the nicest paintings on the walls," Katara decided to go for the last one, because it had the most air-bender history. "And if Zuko or someone visits, they can stay in one of the many beautiful bedchambers there."

Aang decided to come into view of the gossiping girls and none paid attention. "Good morning" he said. Suki replied "morning. Is Sokka up?"

"No. He was in a deep snore when I passed your bedchamber. He can probably get up now, but good luck getting him up." Aang replied. Katara came over and kissed Aang on the cheek.

"Did you sleep well? We all already ate, but you can have some of the rice leftover from our meal. Why are you dressed so fancy-like? You're only going to work on the western part, and that place needs a good cleaning before we can get to work on it." Katara questioned him one after another.

"Lets just get to work. But Suki, you should go get Sokka. We'll need him for this cleaning part and Toph can find the place most needed for work first. Katara you and I will get the supplies needed for attacking the cobwebs and unwanted plants."

They had just begun to go when a Fire Nation messenger hawk landed on a rock in front of them. Suki took the message from the container strapped to the hawk's back. She read "Its from Zuko. 'I need your help. All of yours.'"


	2. Chapter 2, Fire Lord Zuko

Book 4, Chapter 2, Fire Lord Zuko.

Everyone stared in horror as Suki read the note. "What do you think he needs?" Katara said, "Maybe there's an uprising in the Fire nation. I would assume some people from the fire nation are unhappy about this no-war thing. But would it really take this long for them to finally get their butts going?"

"Suki, does the note say anything else? Maybe where we can find Zuko?" Sokka asked.

"No, just 'I need your help. All of yours' and his name. I would consider he's at the palace. That's where he usually is." Suki replied. "I don't think he'd be somewhere other than the palace if he sends a note that doesn't say where he is."

"Maybe the Fire Nation is evil again and they want to capture Aang again and it's all a trap!" Toph blurted. Everyone quietly stared at her in shock. "Hey, it was just a thought…"

"Zuko needs our help and it's our duty to see what it is." Aang spoke up. "We should all get on Appa and go to the Fire Nation Capitol right now."

When their supplies were loaded and Appa was fed the five friends and Momo took off on Appa towards the Fire Nation.

They arrived in the Fire Nation a day or so later and it took them several more hours later to reach the palace city. They landed right in front of the doors and ran in quickly. Zuko paced the floor in front of his throne and rushed forward when Aang and everyone came barging through the doors.

"Thank goodness you're here. I've sent out search parties for my mother but none have come back. She's been missing since I was young, but my father knew where she is. But the bad news is that he killed himself a while ago as so I will never find out. But one thing he did say was this: Cave. I have searched every cave in the world but I still haven't found her. Will you help?" Zuko explained.

"Depends. You've been searching for two years now and we haven't been doing anything but fix up the eastern air temple. You tell us where to look and we'll try and find her, ok?" Toph hastily said. Zuko went on about what she looked like and how she talked and how old she is now.

"I've sent soldiers to the North Pole and the south, to the Earth Kingdom and back. I've checked everywhere, but the air temples. I figured that you were all there so I didn't check there." Zuko was worried now. For a 20 year old, he was getting some serious wrinkles on his forehead.

"Zuko, we've been to the eastern air temple and have been in every hall and every room and have found nothing. There is a group of people living at the northern air temple, but we've all been there before. If you would like, you could come with us to the southern and western air temples to look." Aang stated. As the Avatar, he had to take control of things like this.

"No, I must stay here, the Fire Nation needs me to look after things at the palace and rule here. I can't send orders from Appa's saddle." Zuko had become much more responsible and fancy-like since he had become Fire Lord.

"Suit yourself." Sokka shrugged.

"Ok, so you have us come all the way to your palace just so we can be told we need to go back to where we started? Can't we at least stay for a while to stretch our legs?" Katara snapped. Appa licked her back so that she was covered in Appa slime.

"You might want a bath too." Zuko chuckled. Everyone laughed.

The avatar gang had cleaned up, stocked their supplies and fed Appa before they took off again.

"I think we should start at the Western Air Temple. It's the closest to the Fire Nation." Suki said while looking at the map. "Aang, do you have a map of the western Air Temple?"

"No the monks didn't make maps. But we did get maps from traveling people, and when we traveled." Aang replied.

"Oh, because I was just thinking that we might get lost." Suki sighed.

"No, because we have Toph and Aang!" Sokka's enthusiasm got the best of him. "With earth-bending…they can…see…the ground…oh come on! That normally knocks you guys out!"

"Sorry Sokka but this is a serious matter. We aren't going to laugh as much as we used to because we're on a mission." Katara said somewhat angrily.

"Come on, lighten up Katara. How long has it been since we were on a mission like this?" Toph retorted. Everyone began to bicker until Appa growled his big growl and everyone burst into laughter.

* * *

**This chapter was much shorter than the last one because I wrote in about 1 hour. It took that last chapter about 2-3 hours. Chapter three will be coming out soon and I hope you guys took the poll on my profile page I will be closing that in a month or until I get at least 11 votes on it.**


	3. Chapter 3, The Western Air Temple

Aang awoke to find that he couldn't see anyone. He could barely see! As sleep ebbed away from him, he could see more clearly. He wasn't even on Appa. That when he realized he was already in the western air temple.

"Katara? Suki? Sokka? Toph! Where are you guys?" Aang called. No reply. "Hey! Hello? Anyone here?" Aang called louder. A few minutes later he heard footsteps and Katara ran over to him.

"Aang, what's wrong? Is everything okay?" Katara worried, rushing to his side.

"Um, well, when did we get here?" Aang started, "Where is everyone?"

"Sokka went with Toph to look for a cave or hidden room. They took Appa and Momo with them. Suki and I stayed here to take care of you. You do realize you've been sleeping for about twenty four hours?"

"A WHOLE DAY? Why didn't you wake me!" Aang got angry, not at Katara, but at himself for sleeping so much. Aang sat up and looked around. He remembered the main fountain courtyard from his latest visit to the western air temple, two years ago. Aang tried to stand, but felt dizzy and flopped back down. Katara bended some water from the fountain into his mouth.

"Stay lying down, you have a serious fever. Strong enough that you went into the avatar state, in fact." Katara pushed Aang down when he tried to get up again. Katara bended more water into his mouth. It only made Aang thirstier, and he bended a lot more water into his mouth.

"Woah, there. Don't drink too much, or you'll get a stomachache. Here, eat some rice and carrot soup." Katara ushered a hot bowl of food to Aang. He ate it slowly and pushed it away.

Suki came over from the fountain with a wet rag and laid it on Aang's forehead and fanned his face. Aang just realized that he was burning up. He crawled out of the sleeping bag and climbed into the fountain.

"Ahh…" Aang sighed. He could feel his body cool down. Katara lifted him out, and laid him back on his bed. Aang wriggled, and slipped out and started running. He hadn't been watching where he was going, because he ran straight into the Cliffside wall. It buckled, and rocks fell. Katara and Suki dug him out and looked at what just happened.

"I don't believe it." Suki gasped.

"It can't be." Katara breathed.

"It's the cave." Aang lightly smiled. They looked blankly into a cave opening lined with paintings. It was perfectly carved, capable of a fire nation soldier to carve with a captured earth bender. There were metal stabilization posts on the ceiling and walls, and the cave went in deep. There was a light at the end of the tunnel, and everyone had the same idea on his or her minds. "Lets save Princess Ursa."

Suki, Katara, and Aang gathered Sokka and Toph along with Appa and Momo. Getting prepared for a quick takeoff of Appa.

Aang and Toph opened up the cave opening with earth bending and led the way inside. As the light of day ebbed away as they walked deeper into the cave, Aang lit a small flame in his hand. Finally, they entered a small cavern. It had beautiful paintings and furniture. On a far wall, a jail cell had been carved out of the rock, but nothing was found inside. A scream from Toph sent a chill down Aang's back.

"There's someone following us!" Toph screamed. Everyone spun around towards the entrance where a Fire Nation soldier stood.

You're trespassing." The soldier shot a fire blast at Toph and Katara. The two ducked, and were about to strike back.

"Haven't you heard? Firelord Zuko demanded peace. You're breaking the law by hurting us." Aang tried to stop the soldier from shooting fire blasts at people.

"Zuko? The banished prince? Ha! Like Ozai would let him become Firelord. He hasn't captured _you_ yet." He shot a menacing look at Aang. Toph metal bended a pipe she found on the floor into a hammer, prepared to hit the guy over the head.

"I-I've been h-here. I-If you're looking for princess Ursa we moved her to the north pole four years ago."

The avatar gang rushed out of the cave and into a frenzy packing up their stuff on Appa. Momo resisted the confusion by resting on Toph's shoulder. Aang lifted Appa's reins and called "Yip Yip!" and they all took to the skies.

* * *

**Ok I plan to write these better, and please take the poll on my profile page it is a major part of the story!( It is currently in a four-way split and only four out of three hundred and sixty five of you entered!)**


	4. Chapter 4, Horrible Fevers

Aang stayed up all night. He needed to know when they got near the Fire Nation Capital. He tried to think of how to tell Zuko that they were on the right track to finding his mother.

The sun began to come up, turning the sky a rosy pink. Katara woke up with it, then Suki, then Toph from feeling too many vibrations at once. Sokka kept snoring.

"Aang, I think we should stop and land, were really running low on food." Katara said after checking the food supplies.

"And no offense to Appa, but were nearly swimming in the water. He needs some rest." Suki rubbed Appa's head. Appa made the universal groan of "none taken".

"Okay, I think I see an island on the horizon." Aang squinted his eyes at the rising sun. "We'll try to make it before Appa crash lands." Aang finished as he scanned the ocean's dark surface.

Aang woke up just as they landed on the island he spotted. He hadn't realized that he fell asleep and was still sick when he vomited all over himself. Katara and Suki cleaned him up and made him drink some water. Aang propped himself up on his elbows and looked around. Sokka was unloading the camping supplies while Katara and Suki were tending to Aang, Toph was sleeping and Momo was cuddled at her chest. Aang tried to move his legs, but he found it difficult and flopped back down into Appa's saddle.

"Aang I wished you didn't stay up all night. Your temperature really hot and its doing a number to your body." Katara worried. "Please stay lying down."

Aang tried to speak, but his throat was too dry. Katara noticing this made a small "oh!" sound and poured some water from a canteen into his mouth. He grabbed it, to his dismay that took _a lot_ of energy, and chugged the canteen dry and felt satisfied.

"Suki and I are going to that town over there," Sokka pointed to a small village between the yellow trees, "You guys stay here and we'll get some food and supplies."

Aang was lifted off of Appa's saddle before it was pushed off him. With that, Appa rolled onto the ground and groaned.

Katara watched as Toph built an earth tent over Aang, and she tended to Aang's hot forehead. Toph had made sure that the ground was cold before closing the tent nearly all the way. Katara bended a whole lot of water over the remaining gap, and as the beating sun warmed the tent, Katara flicked her wrist and the water froze solid, making a roof that let the tent be cold and well insulated.

"More…wa…ter…" Aang managed to say. Scrambling for some water, and not finding any fresh water, Katara gave him her bending water.

"I'm afraid it won't taste very good. This is really old water, and probably not as cold." Katara apologized when Aang spit out all the water he nearly swallowed. He froze the water with bending, unfroze it, and then drank it. He made a sour face before he gingerly swallowed the water.

"Why doesn't Aang just sleep? Then He will get better sooner," Toph complained, "and the sooner _he_ gets better, the sooner _we_ can get on with our mission.

"Toph's right, Aang. You need sleep. Here, I'll help you." Katara took out her healing water pouch. Using her abilities to calm his mind, Aang soon fell asleep.

"Wake up, Aang. We're leaving." Katara caressed his face with her hand. Aang struggled to open his eyes (they felt like they had crusted over). It was dark, probably the middle of the night, and by the looks of it Sokka and Suki had bought a lot of food at the market. When they had finished packing, Sokka lifted up Aang and Toph elevated them as so gently lay Aang on Appa's saddle. Momo curled around Aang's bald head and Katara sat next to him and gave him more water to drink.

"He's probably hungry. Do we have any leftover rice and carrot soup?" Suki asked Toph. Toph pointed into nothingness and said "Ask Sokka".

"Hey, I was hungry. And it could've used more meat." Sokka shrugged in a sarcastic tone. He climbed over the Saddle railing and sat on Appa's head, where he could steer him.

Katara tried to boil the water from the clouds that surrounded them. Giving up, she cut up a papaya and fed it to Aang. Swallowing gingerly, because Aang hated papaya, he ate the whole thing. He could feel his strength going up as he ate a carrot and some beans. Katara took out one of the random scrolls that Sokka stole from a library buried in the desert two years ago. It was a history about the Northern Water Tribe, and Katara read it to Aang. Aang got bored of it and so did Katara. She fell asleep along with Sokka and Toph. Suki gave Aang some more food and water before curling up next to Sokka.

She looked at Aang. "Aang, you're shivering! Here." Suki laid a blanket over Aang. She made sure he was tucked in well before going back to sleep.

But Aang couldn't sleep. "But in the Avatar. How can I save people if I cant save myself from this horrible fever?" He crawled over to Appa's head and patted him saying, "I love you Appa. You're always there, helping us. You should be proud of yourself?

Appa grumbled as if he were saying, "Thanks Aang. You too."

Aang finally felt sleepy, and crawled under his blanket and fell into sleep.


	5. Chapter 5, The Red Mask

Aang was up before everyone else. His fever had receded to a normal temperature, and his strength had mostly returned to his muscles. They were nearing the northern tip of the Earth Kingdom, more than a thousand miles from the North Pole. They had visited Fire Lord Zuko and told him about their latest knowledge of his mother's whereabouts. Zuko took the news well, and supplied them with enough food for a week. All that food lasted about five and a half days, and now they were already tremendously low. The gang would stop at a town-but there were no towns. They had to tough it out. Appa was flying just under the clouds, and If Aang reached his hand up, he could soak his gloves all the way through.

Toph woke up soon afterward, and they had a stirring conversation about the comforts and fears of flying. Suki, being a natural light sleeper, woke up and cut up some sweet mango for breakfast.

"I've been up for a while. I think we're nearing the northern tip of the Earth Kingdom. We'll stop at the Northern Air Temple before continuing on to the North Pole." Aang explained while studying a carefully detailed map.

"Well…we might need to make a stop before going to the air temple…we're almost out of food." Suki checked their supplies.

Sokka's eyes flew open, _literally_, and sat straight up. "We're out of food? Nooooooo!" Sokka exclaimed and fell back down. Suki crawled over and offered him some mango slices.

Sokka's yelling woke up Katara, who just looked around and fell back to sleep. Toph yawned and curled up next to Momo, and Sokka began snoring.

"Is everyone really that sleepy?" Aang asked Suki, who seemed as surprised as Aang was. They both shrugged and went back to trying to find a market from the map or looking over Appa.

After an hour of flying over forest and whatever is left of farmland this winter, Suki spotted a small group of buildings in a snow packed forest.

"Good luck getting some shoes on Toph, because her feet are going to freeze." Aang warned Suki once they landed between some trees. Aang and Suki put their hoods up and their boots on. The snow was a good 24 inches high, and it was very wet. Aang woke Katara, and they turned some snow into ice igloos. They made one for Appa, one for Sokka and Suki, and one for Toph, Aang and Katara. Suki gathered firewood while Katara looked for money to buy supplies for their three-day trip to the Northern Air Temple.

"Aang, is this the money we got two years ago from those fire nation guys?" Katara held up a large sack of money.

"Probably. How much is in there?"

"I'm not sure. Three hundred gold pieces, four?"

"Yep, that's it. Do you think we should wake Toph and Sokka now, or just let them sleep? Because we made this for them to stay warm." Aang asked, pointing to the ice hut. Katara nodded and went to go wake Toph. Suki came out and got Sokka to wake up by wafting the last of the salmon-jerky in front of his nose. He tried to bite it, but Suki took it away and kissed him. Katara giggled, but Sokka shot her a look that said "cut it out", and that made her stop.

"So, Aang and I will go and get supplies from the nearby market, and you guys will make sure Toph gets bundled up, and do try to keep the fire going. We don't have any spark rocks, and Aang will be with me." Katara listed, then turned back. "And Toph needs some winter boots. She won't be able to see, so someone needs to be with her at all times." Katara finished.

"Okay" they all said in unison. Sokka put some wood on the fire and grabbed his bow and arrow to try and find some prey to kill. Suki woke Toph and gave her some coats and forced boots onto her feet. Aang put on a pair of gloves and grabbed a sack of money.

"Hey, Katara," Aang started, shyly, as they were out of hearing distance from their makeshift camp.

"Yes Aang?"

"You know how Sokka and Suki are really close, like, super close?"

"Yeah…Where are you going with this?"

"Well, do you think we could ever be that close?"

Katara stopped walking and took Aang by the shoulders. "Of course we will. I'm sure that if we weren't so stressed about the current mission, we would be just like those two." Katara smiled, then they kissed in the snow for a few seconds then continued walking, holding hands.

They reached the village in no time. A shop with a sign that read "Goods" had the promising scent of meat and fresh bread. Inside they found few shelves with vegetables and bread, yet the rest of the store was full of various meats. The clerk turned from tending to a bonsai tree.

"Can I help you-" the man stopped when he saw Aang. "Avatar Aang! I am honored to be in your presence at my small store, how may I help you your honor?"

"There is no need to be so humbled. We would like to purchase ten of your potatoes, three loaves of bread, and tree pounds of meat." Aang recited, listing things from memory.

"Your meat will be ready soon, but the bread and potatoes are reserved for villagers only." The store clerk replied, shamefully.

"Is there a shortage of food? Katara's brow started to wrinkle.

"Oh yes. Someone-an earth bender-has been destroying our farmlands. Even though its winter, we get rid of the snow by paying a local water bender to melt all the snow. One day, a field is almost ready to harvest, the next, the fields are destroyed, as if an earthquake had come through and ripped up the ground, leaving tall pillars of earth everywhere and sunken pits that are too deep to go into safely. The earth was cracked so badly, nobody was ever able to fill it in. The strange part is-nobody ever feels a rumble, or even the slightest shift in the earth. The fifth time it happened this month, we sent someone out to watch the last three fields that have been untouched. Our watchman, Keniyo, saw a person running across a field dressed in all black, wearing a bright red mask with patterns all over it. That was the only time the culprit was ever spotted."

"So someone comes every night and destroys your village's farms?" Aang asked the store clerk.

"Not every night. They did not come for the past few days. And when the person was spotted, a smaller person who dresses in black, uses explosives to set the fields on fire." The man's face went dark.

Aang thought for a moment.

"We'll help catch whoever is destroying your village's farms." Aang announced. The man's expression brightened.

"Oh, thank you very much Avatar Aang! Thank you so very much!" The man continued to thank him as he prepared their order of meat.

Aang and Katara returned to the makeshift camp, holding hands the entire way. Toph must have need sleeping in the igloo, while Sokka was sharpening his sword, and a broken bow and an empty quiver of arrows lay beneath his feet. Also, his game bag was empty, signifying that he had no luck on his hunting trip. Suki was sewing up a pair of Sokka's many ripped socks.

"We're back with some cured meat!" Katara called.

"And a new task" Aang added.

"Meat! Food! Something to eat!" Toph came running out of the igloo, but ran face first into Appa, who just growled and went back to sleep. "I can't see with these stupid boots on! Why do I have to wear these anyway?"

"A little blindness and warm feet, or frostbitten feet and total blindness forever and weakened earth bending?" Suki raised her eyebrow. Toph kept her boots on but threw herself on the ground and pouted.

"Ok, what's this new task I hear about?" Sokka stopped sharpening his sword and stood up. "We still have to find Zuko's mother, you know."

"I know, but this will only take a few days! It's not like we have a time limit on finding Zuko's mother. Trust me, this village needs out help." Aang replied with total confidence.

"Ok, what do we have to do?" Toph asked.

"Someone's been destroying the farmland owned by the nearby village. They believe that an earth bender is the one doing it. The fields are completely ruined! Not even an earth bender can fix it, and the remaining bits of crops have been burned by a second person. They only have a couple of fields that are untouched, but the harvest isn't for a few days and person comes often, and has stricken the farms six times just this month! They barely have enough food to sustain themselves, except for the animals that they hunt."

"But with all this snow, what can they grow?" Suki asked.

"The man who owned a small shop said that they really only grow wheat and potatoes, but they have a water bender come and get rid of the snow everyday. And we told the shopkeeper we would start to help tomorrow night, since everyone needs the rest."

Aang and Katara made two more igloos then put down some animal skins form Appa's saddle. They put their supplies in one igloo, Sokka and Suki in the second, and Aang, Katara, Toph, and Momo in the third. Appa lay down in a dry area under some large trees. Their sleeping bags were all squeezed together, tightly packed, and Momo slept on Aang stomach. When they all got too hot, they would climb out of their sleeping bags and Momo would go lie down in the entrance between the outside and the in.

Aang turned to face Katara, seeing her eyes glitter in the dim light. He put his pale hand on her tan cheek and kissed her. They came closer, wrapping arms around the other, passionately kissing each other. Katara's hands caressed Aang's back and went over his head, which now was covered in short stubble of hair. They were in total bliss…

"Oh, would you get a room? I can hear AND feel you guys making out! Its not exactly roomy in here!" Toph yelled at them.

They both turned beet red, but continued to kiss.

"Ok, seriously, it feels like you guys are rocking the whole freaking campsite!" Toph sat up and shouted.

"That's not us." Katara shot up, knocking Aang backwards.

They all ran out of the igloo, and Sokka was carrying a tired Suki out of their igloo.

"What on earth is happening?" Sokka shouted over the rumbling.

"It must be the criminal! The person who's destroying the fields! They've come back!" Aang shouted back. He ran in the igloo to get his coat, thicker pants and boots.

"We have to get out of here!" Sokka started carrying Suki over to Appa, but then the shaking stopped.

Everyone just looked around. Toph put her hands through the thick snow and on the earth. "There's no one around, but us."

Suki got out of Sokka's arms. "I could scope the area, if they're in the trees."

"No, I would know if they were in the trees. There's nobody here." Toph answered, shaking snow off of her hands. "Well, there's no sense running around in the middle if the night." She yawned, felt her way back to her igloo, and soon they heard snoring.

The rest, including Momo and Appa, could not sleep due to adrenaline from the earth rumbling. Aang made a campfire and they all silently ate the last of the fruit while Appa nibbled on a pine tree.

"Do you think we should go around and investigate the rumbling more?" Sokka broke the silence. Suki's eyes began to droop and she rested her head in Sokka's lap.

"No. We don't know if it's safe, or if it was even the criminal, and not just an actual earthquake. Its better if we just stay right here." Aang replied with a tired expression, wrapped his arms around Katara, and stared into the fire.

They all fell asleep at about three in the morning back in the igloos. Sokka and Suki had to be dragged into their igloo by Aang and Katara because they fell asleep by the fire. They walked into their own igloo to find Toph spread out across half the igloo. Aang and Katara lay down in the remaining space, close and curled up together. Momo slept in the crook of Toph's knee, and Appa slept in his all-adorable beetle pose.

Suki was the first to be awake, and had begun to cook some kind of pig-goat meat. Aang ate some-something he realized he was forced to do when it was the only thing they could get-and boiled water for tea.

Drawn by the scent of the various spices that the meat was marinated in, Sokka came out of his igloo. "mmmmm" was the only sound that came from him as Suki gave him a large slice. Katara and Toph came out later, and began eating.

"Anything to report yet?"

"No"

"Nmmphh-hmm" Sokka was still chewing his food.

"My stomach hurts, but that's not really unusual. I get it often." Suki shrugged.

"Want some mint tea?" Aang offered.

"Ooh-I could do some water healing on your stomach, or bend the liquids in your stomach so-"

"It's fine Katara, I'm ok with mint tea." Suki replied and took a cup of it from Aang.

The rest of the day went on more or less normal, and at around noon time the gang and some people from the village patrolled around the farmlands, searching for some signs of damage from the previous night's earthquake. Katara forced Toph to wear boots again, and was now leading her around.

"I don't see anything unusual" said Suki, after inspecting the first field.

"That's because the damage is underground." Toph reported, feeling the earth. "The earth under the surface has been moved and screwed with. That bush there," she pointed in the direction of a berry bush, "its roots are over there." she pointed to an area 50 yards away. "This earth bender is very good at hiding their art."

"That's why we felt the earth rumble! The masked criminal was turning the earth right below us!" Sokka yelled.

"Yeah, and guess what? Ripping away the roots totally killed these plants. Every last one of them." Toph continued.

"It's all your fault!" a villager cried out, "If you all helped us last night, we might still have a field of food for the winter!"

"Actually, this is exactly what we wanted to happen. You people still have one good field left over there." Aang pointed to a field of potato plants. "It's still alive. My guess is that an earth bender lives there. I need every earth bender in the village to come and meet at the center of town."

After the villagers collected all the earth benders, they noticed that half of the village was earth benders. They then narrowed it down to those who were the best earth benders. There were only two left, and then they tried to narrow it down to who owned the remaining field of crops. To everyone's surprise, neither of them owned it. Both people, a man and a woman, had destroyed crops.

However, Katara was persistent to find out who did it. She asked to search the houses. The villagers agreed, and they searched the house of the man. Nothing unusual came up. They searched his yard and the marketplace. Nothing.

They searched the house of the woman. Suki found something interesting.

"Guys, look. I found a small black suit on a hidden trunk!" She had picked the lock with her nail.

"Mama, why are these people in my room?" a little girl came from behind the woman asked shyly.

"Can you explain this please?" Aang questioned the woman.

"That is my daughter's, for cold weather. She gets cold fast." She sniffed. "And I do have a name."

"And I don't care" Toph retorted back to her, "Just unlock every drawer, door, chest, closet, cabinet, box, whatever! Do it!"

The woman stood up Toph, but she wasn't intimidated. (She's blind, duh!)

"What's in the cellar?" Sokka picked the lock with a small dagger (after losing his space sword during the Great Battle for Peace, he went back to his master, who still had the asteroid, to make an array of weapons, including a dagger and a new sword). He descended the stairs before shouting "Aang! I need a light!"

"Coming," Aang stood up and went down the cellar steps. Making a small flame in his hand, Aang and Sokka came upon a room of meat being kept cold and a box of potatoes that the family managed to save.

"Step aside, twinkle toes." Toph shoved past the two of them, took of her boots, and stomped the ground. She placed her hands in the middle of the floor, clutching stone and started pulling it up. "There's another cellar under this one, its only accessible by earth bending."

Aang ran up the stairs to report to Katara to bring the woman down to the cellar. She dragged her down, and the woman was sweating, even though the cellar was freezing cold.

"Aang! I need some help over here!" Toph called. He ran over and they opened the secret cellar door together. In the second room, which must have had a temperature below zero degrees, Aang saw another, larger, black suit, a crate with explosives in it, and two bright red masks.

"Explain!" Aang, Toph, and Sokka yelled at her.

"I-I, ok. It was me, OK? I hate everyone in this stupid town and was the laughing stock, happy? And I only destroyed my own potatoes because then I wouldn't get blamed!" The woman sank to her knees and cried. Her daughter glared at Team Avatar, then soothed her mother.

"Thank you, Avatar Aang, for catching the Red Mask. It may not be your expertise, but you did save the last field from destruction. We may just make it through the winter." The mayor of the village thanked Aang.

"It was really nothing, I was happy to help." Aang replied to him modestly.

"Do you need any supplies for your travels?" the mayor asked Aang.

"Well…"

"Yes! We need some meat for us, and some potatoes or something for him" Sokka butted in and jerked his thumb at Aang.

"Then it is settled. Thank you again, Avatar. May your travels be safe and peaceful." The Mayor bowed to Aang, who bowed back.

The Gang packed up the camp and they all climbed onto Appa's saddle.

"Wait! We're forgetting something!" Suki jumped off and crawled into the igloo Toph slept in. When she came back out, she carried a pair of brown fur boots, and handed them to Toph. "You forgot these!" Suki smiled.

Toph grimaced and everyone laughed.


	6. Chapter 6, The Northern Air Temple

Aang and Katara were kissing; the gang had been flying for a whole day and they were near the northern air temple when Katara told Aang: "I love you"

"I love you too" He replied. The two were kissing and holding hands when Toph complained "Are we there yet?" Aang took himself away from Katara and looked over Appa's head. Then he looked into the distance and saw the tiniest outline of a mountain.

"We're almost to the North Petrola Mountain Range. Once we get past that first mountain," Aang pointed to a small peak in the distance, "it will only be a couple of hours until we get to the Northern Air Temple.

Aang turned back to Katara and they kissed again, but not for very long.

"Hey Aang," Katara began, whispering under her breath so Toph, Sokka, and Suki wouldn't hear, "when we get to the temple, can we just have, you know, _us_ time?"

"What do you mean?"

"I just want to be with you right now. Not anybody else." Katara looked Aang in the eye. He looked down.

"I feel the same way, but I have Avatar duties, things I need to do before myself. I promise that I will be with you when I can." Aang tried not to look in Katara's eyes; he didn't want to feel her dismay.

"I understand" was all Katara said.

"But-we can still be together and all right now, while we're still flying!" Aang tried to cheer her up. She didn't look up, but when Aang gently turned Katara's chin up with his hand, she managed a smile.

"Are we there YET?" Toph complained again.

"No," Aang rolled his eyes, "we just entered the mountain range. We shouldn't be very long now." He answered with irritation. Toph only grunted in reply.

Aang put his arm around Katara. Leaning her head on Aang's shoulder, the two sat on Appa's head, watching the sunset, in peace.

oooooo

The gang had gotten off Appa at the courtyard in the Northern Air Temple around midnight. Teo and his father and some other citizens of the air temple came to greet them.

"WOAH, the layout of this place is completely different than the eastern temple! Toph commented when she stepped down off of Appa.

"Yeah, its smaller, and more snowy." Suki looked around.

"When the monks were around, his place was full of bison and lemurs and air-benders. But when the fire nation wiped the place out, I'm guessing it was pretty lifeless, just like the rest of the temples are now. But Teo's family and people were refugees to here, and the place became full of life and happiness again." Aang explained to Toph and Suki.

"I can't believe how much the temple has been restored," Suki gasped in awe.

"Actually," Teo's dad, the mechanic, commented, "When we arrived here the temple was as it is, well, except for our improvements."

"The fire nation a hundred years ago probably only cared about killing the air benders, so the temple itself was left alone. Teo inferred. "And all of you must be tired. We'll show you to where your temporary sleeping quarters are."

Teo and some of the other kids showed everyone to their rooms. Aang's room was across the courtyard from Katara, Suki, and Toph's rooms. Sokka's room was right next to Aang's, on the east side of the courtyard with the girl's on the west, and in the middle of the courtyard was a large fountain with actual _clean_ water (if it wasn't clean Katara made sure it was).

After Aang set up his bed for the night, he grabbed his glider, ran across the courtyard, and then flew over the roof to Katara's window. He watched as Katara got up from where she was writing on some parchment and opened the door, looking around to see who knocked, then closing the door, and jumping out of her skin when she saw Aang sitting on her windowsill.

"You scared me!" she playfully punched Aang's arm.

"So, do you want to, I don't know, kiss?" Aang looked up shyly.

Katara's answer was more of a motion. She sprung at him and kissed him, full on, on the mouth, knocking him backwards and into the wall. They kissed very passionately for a long time, until the sun began to rise over the mountain range.

"You should get to your room, before my brother finds out you were here and decides he doesn't want you to be my boyfriend." Katara pulled on a dress as Aang got his shoes on.

"Yeah. I'll see you later." He kissed Katara's forehead, and jumped out the window with his glider and flew over the residential unit to his window, climbed in, and realized he wasn't wearing his shirt.

oooooo

Katara dreamed that she was at Sokka and Suki's wedding. Then the scene shifted and she was standing alone in a frozen, barren wasteland. The dream shifted once more, and she was underground, hearing the screams and cries of her friends.

She woke abruptly, in a cold sweat. Getting out of her nightgown, she tried to make clear of what her dream meant.

Suki knocked at the door. Katara called her in, and she came in, crying.

"Suki! My gosh, what happened?" Katara forgot about her nightmare, and sat down on the floor next to Suki.

"I don't know! I-I-I just felt like I needed to cry!" Suki whined.

Katara's face of sympathy turned to a face of annoyance.

"Suki. If there is no reason to cry, don't cry." Katara rolled her eyes and stood up. But Suki grabbed her arms and pulled her down.

"I feel fat!" She wailed. Katara looked Suki's very thin, opposite of fat body up and down.

"You're skinnier than I am, Suki. Stop crying." Katara stood up and opened the door. "Would you like to talk to Sokka about this? I'm sure He'd give you _lots_ of sympathy." She pulled Suki up and pushed her out the door, then shut it before Suki tried to come back.

oooooo

Katara walked to the temple's great hall. The few cooks there were making rice and bean soup for their breakfast, and Katara offered to help them by making hot tea.

Aang entered the hall, and was followed by Toph, Sokka and Suki. They all ate their breakfast, and scooted on to the supply room where they would meet the mechanist and his son to decide what they would need before their arrival at the northern water tribe.

"I think we're going to need a couple of sacks of rice." Sokka decided.

"No, just one, because with all our stuff and us, Appa can't carry it all." Aang corrected him.

"Fine, one sack of rice, one sack of fruit, and what else will we need?" Sokka turned to Suki and Katara.

"We have enough meats, do you have any baked bread to share?" Katara asked the woman who was in charge of the storeroom, Anjie.

"We may have a few loafs, you may have them. We also have vegetables, if you would like them." The middle-aged woman browsed the shelves of foods.

"Oh, yes, that would be nice!" Suki clapped in pleasure.

"Alright then, I'll get your supplies ready." Anjie started picking things off the shelves and putting them into a cart.

"So, how have things been going?" Sokka asked his old friend, the mechanist.

"Things are well. Our tribe has been at peace since the war ended, and no threats have even come our way." He replied.

"That's great!" Aang heard Katara exclaim. She took Aang by the arm and led him away from the stockroom.

"Where are you taking me?" He laughed as she dragged him up some stairs.

"You'll see." She smiled.

They made their way up many flights of stairs, and eventually they reached the top room of the very topmost tower.

"Surprise." Katara whispered. The room was small, but every wall was covered in air nomad frescos. The painting had hardly been disturbed, as fresh as it was the day it was painted more than 100 years ago.

Aang stood in awe. He had never been in this room during any of his visits to the temple in the past.

"When did you find this place?" He asked.

"While the rest of you were busy packing Appa's saddle with our stuff, I snuck up here to find out of this place was real. I'd been reading scrolls from the Eastern Temple, and the few ones that had histories of the Northern Temple talked about this sacred room. It was a place of prayer, where monks would go to pray to the spirits." Katara took Aang's hand.

"It's incredible." He sat down, and began to meditate. Katara sat nest to him, and admired the frescos.

oooooo

An hour later, Katara tapped Aang's shoulder and told him that it was time that they left. They were ready to head off to the Northern Air Temple on Appa.

Katara turned to leave the room, but Aang swung her around and kissed her. She caressed the back of his neck, while Aang held onto her lower back. He began to caress her buttocks, but he stopped himself.

"This is a sacred place." He stopped kissing and pulled away from Katara. Flustered, she pulled her hair out of her face and blushed. Aang's face turned beet red, and they hurried down the stairs to the courtyard where the whole gang was ready to take off. They climbed onto Appa's back, and Aang grabbed hold of Appa's reins.

"Yip Yip."


End file.
